OPI The Impossible from the Mariah Carey Collection reminds me of cherry Jell-o a bit because it has that jellyish look. However, instead of being shiny like a jelly, it has the awesome Liquid Sand finish, which is a matte texture.
It’s safe to say that I’m completely smitten by the Liquid Sands. Everything from the unique concept to the quick dry time floats my polish boat.
I’ve now worn, enjoyed, and reviewed all 4 of the Liquid Sands from the Mariah Carey Collection. And, shortly, I hope to crack open the new Liquid Sand nail polish from the Oz the Great and Powerful Collection!
(By the way, if you haven’t already seen the quick Oz bottle shots I shared on Instagram yesterday, check them out! I think that even those who weren’t excited about the collection before may be more interested now. The glitters are hot stuff!)
Also, everyone, please keep your fingers, toes, and eyes crossed that OPI will put out an emerald-green Liquid Sand! I might faint! (And you all want me to faint, right? Wait a minute…) 😉
But…without further ado, let’s get on with the review of OPI The Impossible!
OPI The Impossible Pictures
Natural Light
Flash
Natural Light
Flash – You can see the holographic glitter a bit here.
Flash
OPI The Impossible Swatches
All swatches have:
- Essie First Base (Base Coat)
- 2 coats of OPI The Impossible
- No top coat!
Natural Light Photos
Flash Photos
Claim: BUSTED, but Product: TRUSTED!
X Matte fuchsia (Okay, there might be a very slightly purplish tint, but I’d say this is more reddish/pinkish than fuchsia.)
Key Notes
- Name: OPI The Impossible
- Collection: Mariah Carey by OPI Collection 2013
- Press Release: Click here to see the Mariah Carey by OPI press release
- Colours Available in the Collection: A Butterfly Moment, Sprung, Pink Yet Lavender, Anti-bleak, Stay the Night, Get Your Number, Can’t Let Go & The Impossible
- Amount: 15 mL (0.5 fl. oz.)
- What I Paid: $6.25 CAD
- Where to Buy: Trade Secrets & select spas & salons
OPI The Impossible Review
Colour
Red isn’t my favourite colour for a nail polish, but I still gave this a shot because hellllllo, it’s a Liquid Sand! 😉
I’d describe this polish as being an orange-pink based red because it looks more like tomatoes than it does a saturated red that you see on a stop sign.
Finish
There are fine holographic glitter, medium hexagonal glitter, and large star sequins.
The Impossible by OPI has the amazing Liquid Sand finish that is gritty, but not sharp or scratchy. It feels pretty neat…kind of like a rock, and if you inspect your nails closely, you’ll see the texture is very much like bumpy wet sand. It’s cool to admire.
But don’t worry – it’s not a nightmare to remove. I just used acetone-based nail-polish remover (not 100% acetone) on a cotton ball. I held the cotton ball on my nail (one at a time) for a few seconds before rubbing. It came out quite easily. You don’t really have to do the Foil Method like you might with chunky glitter. You’ll be surprised how much easier it is to remove than you’d expect.
Application & Formula
Like all the Liquid Sands, I found The Impossible very easy to apply. I used medium coats (as it’s my habit), and it went on without a hitch. I did try applying thin coats on one nail, but I found that because the formula is on the thicker side, if you use thin coats, you won’t get the coverage you desire.
If you use medium coats, you’ll only need 2 coats to achieve full opacity. And since Liquid Sands dry so quickly, you really don’t need to apply thin coats.
With a Shiny Top Coat
I strongly urge you to try the Liquid Sands as-is. Even if you have the urge to use a top coat, try not to. Seriously, this new finish is quite the experience, and as a nailphile, it’s really exciting to come across a new finish.
Funny thing is that when I went back to wearing my regular polish after all these Liquid Sands, I missed the texture. You see, throughout the day, I found myself rubbing my nails. With regular polish, it’s smooth and boring. Haha!
But…since I know that there are some who absolutely don’t like the texture, I painted a tip on a nail wheel to show you what it looks like with a shiny top coat.
Yes, it’s pretty this way, but Liquid Sands eat up top coat like crazy. You’ll need multiple layers of top coat, and keep in mind that the thicker a glittery manicure is, the more likely it is that your polish will chip or even fall off in sheets.
Star Sequins
What sets The Impossible by OPI apart from the other Liquid Sands (aside from the obvious colour difference – DUH!) is that it contains large star sequins.
I was really excited to have stars on my nails, but I was majorly disappointed.
If you inspect my photos, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any star sequins. Yeah. I painted my nails like normal without purposely trying to fish out the stars. I wanted to show you the results that you’d most likely get. (Not all of us have time to collect the stars with a toothpick and place them on our nails!)
So…what you see in my swatches is pretty typical of what you’ll get if you just use the brush to polish with. (Funny thing is that when I painted the tip on my nail wheel, a star decided to grace us with its presence.) 😉
Despite the stars being almost ‘impossible’ to fish out, I still think this is a lovely polish. (Hehe, The Impossible has ‘impossible’ stars. Oh, I’m easily amused!)
Pros
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Cons
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Final Verdict: 7.5/10
If you like red nail polish and are curious about the Liquid Sand finish, this may be the one for you.
However, I still think that OPI Get Your Number (the blue) is the best of the bunch, followed by Stay the Night, Can’t Let Go, and then The Impossible. All are gorgeous, though!
Have you tried any of the Liquid Sands yet? If you have not, which will be your first? If you have, which do you like the most?
I’m in awww at the liquid sands! I absolutely love them. When I went back to wearing normal polish, I too, kept touching them wanting them to have texture. Glad to know I’m not alone. Haha.
Katerina recently posted: Cost of Counterfeit
Hey Katerina!
You’re in luck then…because for Thursday’s post, I’ll be reviewing a 5th Liquid Sand. 😉
I am in love with these Mariah Carey liquid sands polish…
precious pearl recently posted: Fishscale Manicure
Hey Precious Pearl!
Same here! Such a cool idea that was well-executed!
Stay tuned for Thursday’s post – I have a review on the Liquid Sand from the Oz Collection! 😉
I just am not digging the textures polishes. I have to have a smooth glassy finish or I will pick at my nails all day. I love the little stars though and I would pick this one up and then slather lots of top coat on! This is a gorgeous polish! Too bad you have to fish for the Impossible stars. The stars are what really make this one stand out and be unique.
Hey Cindi!
I wasn’t crazy about texture before I tried the Liquid Sands. I liked mattes, but it was never love. Then these came along and blew me away. I really recommend that you give it a shot or even just look at the swatches in a Trade Secrets store. It might change your mind.
This is my least fav of the LS ones – it just looks lumpy and messy. …but then I am not a big fan (yet) of textures…did not like the shatter/crackle thing at all and so far I have only one of anything with texture from Layla’s SoftTouchEffects – it feels OK – sort of like a felt – not too gritty. But I cannot even bear to use an emery board…I hate sandpaper and have since I was a kid…so not sure I can deal with these textures.
Hey beachgal!
It’s my least favourite Liquid Sand, too, but I still enjoyed it.
Hehe, I think after you try Get Your Number, it might make a believer out of you! It converted me!
The Liquid Sands aren’t as harsh as sandpaper. They’re gritty without being sharp. You might like them more than you think!
I think I like them in the reverse order! I love this one, then Can’t Let Go. I’m not a fan of Stay the Night. I had no interest in Get Your Number at first, but I got it by accident when it was mistakenly shipped to me instead of The Impossible. I was going to return it, but…I can’t return a good nail polish! So I kept it (and bought The Impossible elsewhere) and it’s growing on me. Maybe I should accidentally buy Stay the Night, too, and see if I start to like it, ha! I was surprised at how much I liked the finish on these. I thought they would feel like sandpaper, but I actually love the texture. It’s interesting without being gaudy or scratchy.
Hey Meredith!
Haha, funny how The Impossible was ‘impossible’ for you to get at first because they shipped the wrong colour in its place. 😛
Hehe, I like how you said you should ‘accidentally’ buy Stay the Night. Spoken like an open-minded and true nailphile with a funny bone. 😉
LOL I was going to ask if you managed to see any stars. Was quite surprised seeing them in the bottle. My philosophy is “If I don’t get any this time, then there’s just more for later”. One day my fancy star/heart/moon glitters will be so compacted I’ll just HAVE to cover my nails in shapes! 😉
Lizzy recently posted: Julep: Mystery 1, 2, 3 & Nail Savvy: "Gold Glitter"
Hey Lizzy!
Hahaha, did I see any stars? Only when the buff jock knocked my lights out. Then I also saw little birds circling above my head along with the stars. 😉
That’s a good philosophy you have. I never thought about it like that, but you’re right!
This is actually really pretty but I don’t usually wear much red. I also wish there were more star sequins. By the way, how did you get it for $6.25?
Hey Maddy!
Maybe if I shook up the bottle more, the stars would get to the top more and be easier to fish out…Hmm…I only thought of doing it now.
I got this for a great price because I have a personal polish hook up! 😀
I tried this — and I loved it! I like that the red isn’t “in your face” so I can wear it to work (perhaps the matte finish helps that too). However, I don’t know whether I just can’t wear polish without a topcoat or what, but the edges keep chipping just a tiny bit. Did you find it not to be as durable as other nail polishes?
Hey Amy!
Hmm…nope, I found that this polish was very durable, and I didn’t get the chipping around the edges that you mentioned. It might actually have to do with the base coat you’re using. For this, I used Essie First Base, and it seemed to work well. But the right base coat can depend on your body chemistry – what works for me might not work for you. Also, have you tried using it without a base coat? I know some people have been wearing the Liquid Sands without a base coat and they’ve had great results.
I think OPI missed the mark with the pigmentation of The Impossible. Sometimes it looks straight up red, and sometimes it looks straight up hot pink! I love it either way though.
Hey L.!
Maybe they wanted it to look like both to make it interesting…hehe! 🙂